Well, here we are in mid-2020, the NBN is up and running and we are seeing quite dramatic workplace changes with many professionals and others now working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those hoping to see Toodyay at last reach its long talked about potential by being able to attract a new demographic of young professional families able to work from home, I’m hoping that the long-forgotten and perhaps costly planning report is being dusted off and reconsidered.

Just imagine – Toodyay could be sold, touted and promoted as WA’s very own Silicon Valley where the bright young tech savvy entrepreneurs – and their families – can not only develop the myriad of new digital tools we now take for granted but also benefit by living under clear, unpolluted skies while leaving congested city roads behind and giving themselves and their children a taste of wide open spaces.

Even though Toodyay is pretty bloody good in most respects, it could be so much more.
Our shire administration and councillors are the ones to bring about the changes needed in an ageing population to help secure our community’s future.

We need to recognise the potential to develop new business opportunities in our community and help create new jobs to sustain the local economy while at the same time retaining our uniqueness.

A big ask I know, but I have faith.

Firstly, no camels but it was, and don’t be offended, like stepping back into a 1950s Great Britain. I mean that as a compliment.

In those days, people were hardworking, polite, courteous to each other, helped each other and were neighbourly. You could leave your door unlocked, safe in the knowledge that your property would not be touched.

People would acknowledge each other passing by, either on foot or driving (for those who had cars then), and there was no litter and the parks were spotless with no graffiti. Does any of this ring a bell?

As an outsider looking in, so to speak, this is Toodyay today.

Any of you who have been following the UK news, will see a country which is tearing itself apart – the unlimited hypocrisy, the biased press and the political correctness gone mad has ruined a great country. And it will be hard to get it back.

Hang onto what you’ve got, people. From what I see Toodyay is a magic place to live.
And to the politicians I say, whoever you are, promote Toodyay. It has so much going for it.

Sell the town to the rest of WA and to the world.

At weekends I watch tourists come here. It must be a welcome relief for them if they have come from the city. Build on that.

Allegedly I could be flying home to the UK in July sometime. I will be sad to leave.

Thank you to all those I’ve met. The friendship shown to this trapped Pom is very much appreciated.

Heidi, my partner, had lived in Morangup for more than 15 years.

Her first home was 13 acres (5ha) in Grandis Road and she purchased our current property in Morangup Road in 2012.

We first lived in an apartment in South Perth, but Heidi really wanted to get back to the farm.

She was well aware that I had lived in the ‘burbs’ all of my life and was not going to force the issue. She wanted me to come to my own conclusion.

The first visit to the farm and I was hooked – and fell in love at first sight.

It’s 38 acres (15ha), no sheep station of course, with beautiful views, a comfortable house in need of a facelift, a couple of paddocks and lots of untouched bush.

We moved in February 2016 and then the massive job of making the land productive again began – and has not stopped.

For a number of years I had been fascinated with permaculture and the clever techniques employed to work with nature to produce your own food and live a more sustainable life.

In 2018 I completed a Permaculture Design Certificate course and I have been able to put what I have learnt to good use.

We have had successes and failures along our journey, and I hope to share some of these with you soon.

The Shire of Toodyay is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the post-Covid-19 world.
Spending so much time at home during the pandemic has made people look towards a simpler life.

The uptake in growing your own food and gardening in general has been huge.
I had never, until recently, been to nurseries where all the veggie seeds and seedlings were completely sold out.

There are a large range of lifestyle properties in Toodyay which is not that far from the city.

We all know ‘flatlanders’ living in the city and suburbs, so why not invite them to take a trip out to Toodyay.

Who knows, they just might find their piece of the good life.

There are nine events on the list which fall outside of the government’s original six-month isolation period and, for instance, no decision has yet been made by the Toodyay Agricultural Society to cancel the 2020 Show which is planned for October or, for that matter, by the RAS to cancel the Perth Royal Show.

The fact that the directory contains our past shire president and other errors, pales into insignificance when compared with the damage this publication has done to our town.

Don’t undersell what you have in terms of property and lifestyle.

We who live here are well aware of the advantages, but no proper wide-ranging promotion has ever been done and hence Toodyay remains a secret jewel in the Avon Valley crown.

Promotion is all that’s necessary to bring our fabulous town and regional lifestyle to the forefront of people’s minds.

Consider this: we now have a new cohort of councillors and a brand-new CEO and they all need to prove themselves.

The best way they can do this is to get Toodyay on the ‘place to live and/or visit’ map once and for all.

I’m sure many will remember the exhilarating seminar the Chamber of Commerce hosted a few years back when ‘How to Promote Toodyay’ was presented by a dynamic group of young marketers.

There was a cost involved, of course, but I’m sure many who attended will remember the level of heart-pounding excitement they left us all with.

It’s now time, in my opinion, for this to happen.

Toodyay has got exactly what Covid-19 has shown us we all need – a sense of community and a need to down-size and re-evaluate what’s important in life – space, a clear blue sky, friends, family and less unnecessary stuff.

What this community needs are councillors who are prepared to represent them for the right reason, not financial gain.

In years gone by, very good, wise, community-minded people were on council representing the ratepayers with their dedication, and their only consideration was the well-being of the shire.

These elected members were not necessarily wealthy either, just community people wanting to do the right thing by fellow individuals and groups.

Possibly councillors need to re-evaluate their motivation for putting their hand up when the next election comes around.

What an absolute disgrace on this historic day.

During WWI and WWII sixty-five men and women from our community paid the supreme sacrifice.

This doesn’t include other conflicts or those that returned to their loved ones but still bore the scars of war.

The Toodyay community is proud of how these brave men and women went away and served their country so that we can enjoy the relative peace that we have today.

So, shame on the councillors elected to represent the community as well as the senior staff.

Both groups are well paid and so surely the few dollars that an Anzac wreath would cost would be pittance in a shire’s budget.

We believe the shire is dishonouring our brave servicemen and women who gave up so much for us and to not show any respect on Anzac Day. It brings out their true colours.

They should all hang their heads in disgrace.

The loss of years of contacts was my main brief thought and, as I considered what to do next, my intelligent friend called my phone which was answered by Pete at Toodyay Traders.

“Thank God,” was my next genuine and relieved reaction.

I’d put the phone ‘safely out of harm’s way’ on the trailer mudguard – as you do –and, you guessed it, I had driven off.

Apparently, my phone ended up in the middle of the road on the bridge.

But a local resident, more aware and careful than I had been, saw it, stopped and picked it up and, being a man of integrity, delivered it safely to Toodyay Traders.

Apparently a car in front of him missed it by a skerrick.

He and I both know who he is and, because a bit of mystery is always good for us, I won’t name him here but have thanked him personally.

The phone cover is a bit worse for wear but, miraculously, the phone is intact.

The experience reminds me of how thankful and privileged I am to live in this good and safe town and with people of integrity who make it so.

Thank you, my young friend, and thank you all.